The process of specifying the structural components of a building has remained essentially unchanged over the past several decades. The building specification process is an interaction between the client, who for residential projects is typically the homeowner, and the builder or contractor.
The typical specification process begins with the client seeking the design services of an architect or possibly a builder. The design service provider asks the client a series of questions to identify the needs and desires of the client, relating to the building. The designer must also ascertain the financial capabilities of the client to formulate a draft plan. The designer typically creates a graphical representation of the proposed design concept with sketches or rough layouts. Upon mutual agreement of the concept, the professional can then establish an estimate of the costs based upon the location of the building on the property and the materials specified by the client.
When the building siting, design specifications and costs are acceptable to the client, a “Scope of Work” is established. The Scope of Work is a detailed listing of the responsibilities and required components of the building project. The details of building even a simple residential structure can be extensive.
The implementation of the Scope of Work, however, often follows a chaotic process that leaves the many design decisions involved in building home out of any formal, systematized methodology. The home buyer generally does not have a sound grasp of the many details that require their attention during the building process, (i.e.: design of floor systems, roof gutters, cabinet configurations, etc.) leaving significant opportunities for mistakes, errors in judgment, and costly changes to arise.
The linkage between the client's interests and the builder's interests is tenuous, because the parties have divergent objectives: the client wants the most for their money, and the builder wants to maximize profit. There are, of course, additional peripheral objectives associated with the builder, such as wanting to establish a positive reputation, but the fact remains that the builder must make a profit to remain in business, and that can often be at the expense of the client's interests. The manner in which the construction phase unfolds defines the quality of the finished product, and since the parties have differing goals the satisfactory completion of the product can be elusive.
A common scenario involves a high level of involvement by the client at the beginning, then as the project progresses through to completion, the client involvement declines due to logistical and economic constraints. The builder may even make decisions that the client is unaware of in order to expedite the project or improve profitability.
Perhaps the highest additional cost a client faces is when they make a design change after the associated work has been started. The builder has to simultaneously adhere to the construction schedule and spend additional resources to meet the client's wishes. This situation almost always involves significant “up charges” to the client, which could have been avoided if all of the details had been properly thought through before the construction phase began.
A method is needed for improving interaction between the client and the professionals throughout the construction process; to ensure consistent and informed client input, and to involve the client in making informed, cost-effective decisions, while maintaining the client's visionary perspective, thereby assisting the professionals with timely decisions that have a minimum adverse impact on the project's progress.
One technology that is coming of age and enabling efficient interaction is the Internet. If the Internet could provide a means to orchestrate the interaction between the builder/contractor and the client/homeowner, a significant reduction in the extensive time and increasing complexity of home building could then be realized. However, an integrated, Internet-based application that combines property elements, design regulations and requirements of building specifications in a system is not currently available, and for good reasons. The intricacies of such a system have so far made this too complex a task to be performed over the Internet. A streamlined, interactive method, preferably utilizing the resources of the Internet, is needed for making and tracking the many selections and decisions required in building construction.